CityWheels ready to expand

In September, Bright Ideas featured CityWheels, a car-sharing business that allows customers to rent cars by the hour in Cleveland and Oberlin. The idea is to make using public transportation more feasible for people in the area by giving them access to a car when they need it, said founder Ryan McKenzie. That way, more people can get by comfortably without having cars of their own, easing problems with smog and traffic congestion. Customers are charged $7 to $9 per hour to use a CityWheels vehicle, which includes gas, insurance and maintenance.

Six months ago: CityWheels had two cars stationed near the campus of Oberlin College and two near Case Western Reserve University. McKenzie said the company started by targeting college students as customers, as they typically don't need a car every day and are often looking for ways to save money. The company was looking to expand, though, in order to serve people who live and work in downtown Cleveland.

What's happened since: CityWheels has been working toward its expansion plans and expects to have four cars in downtown Cleveland and two in Shaker Square by spring, McKenzie said. The company is in the process of revamping its Web site and creating more interactive features. One new feature allows visitors to become "charter members" of CityWheels. Once 15 to 20 people pledge to join from a given area, CityWheels will place a car in that neighborhood immediately, McKenzie said.

Visitors to MyCityWheels.com will soon be able to see how many others in their area have pledged. Membership has risen by about 50 percent since fall, and CityWheels now has more than 200 members, McKenzie said. About two-thirds of those are in Cleveland.

CityWheels is expecting to receive a $500,000 federal transportation grant this year to go toward operating expenses and is close to having financing in order to purchase more vehicles. McKenzie said he plans to have 15 to 20 cars in place by the end of the year, and plans to have a presence soon in Lakewood and the Cleveland neighborhoods of Ohio City and Tremont.

"It's grow or die time," McKenzie said. "We spent two years building all the systems from scratch and learning how to scale the business, putting all the infrastructure in place. It's time to take it to scale."